Turning Over Stones

When I was a kid I used to love to play in the creek that ran behind the orphanage where i lived. It was one of those places that the rest of the world did not exist. Just the good old out doors and nature. Jimmy, this other kid that lived at the orphanage at the same time and i would go out in the creek and play all day. we would build dams, pummel each other with cat tails, and turn over stones.

When we turned over stones we were always filled with anticipation and wonder about what might be under the stone, maybe it would be a crawdad, a salamander, or a snake even. Crawdads were fun we learned how to pick them up behind their pincers so they could not pinch us. Salamanders were the best because those suckers were fast. i remember this bright red salamander once. it was the coolest thing. It seemed to just look at me from my palm experiencing me as I was experiencing him. it was the first "god moment" i can recall.

But snakes were the always a possibility. They would scare the crap out of us. I must say Jimmy and I turned over hundreds of rocks many times going back to the same ones because something new might show up. Fear of the unknown did not scare us away from turning over stones. Come what may snakes were not that common and we were alert and ready.

Spiritually speaking life seems to be a bit like playing in that old creek. I keep turning over rocks never knowing what is likely to show up. The crawdads that I am encountering are people who are protecting themselves with hard shells and snappers. Quite a few of them seem to be transforming into wonderful people and are joining the rest of us orphans as we turn over stones. Some stones need more than one traveler to get them to move. Some are just to heavy and we will never know what sleeps rests under them.

The salamanders are slippery folks who seem to be able to move fast and are curious about seeing the world and experiencing what comes their way. The red or special salamander type folks are not afraid . They know who to trust and go with the flow. Salamanders seem to be able to boogy through life with a permanent smile on their face no matter if it's heavy weather or a sunny day.

Now to the snakes. I don't run into too many of them but they are there. they have their own axe to grind. They are full of double talk about caring and concern but in the end they do not want you to be free for the sake of being free. they want to tell you which rocks to turn over and which rocks not to turn over. They definitely do not want you hanging out with salamanders and those former crab like folks.

In our creek Jimmy and I new where we could find almost anything. We would drink right from the stream too. i never got sick from it once. the water was sweet. and refreshing. I remember it well. Drinking now
from the spiritual stream or path the water is proving to be sweet and refreshing just like when i was a kid.

When I quiet my mind and turn the thinking off i seem to operate at a deeper level than when i am fighting against the current muddying the waters. I don't really feel like an orphan anymore. I am connected to the creek to the others like Jimmy. We share the similar experiences but never the same because the stream is always flowing. Covered in mud and sharing smiles we enjoy the place where the rest of the world just doesn't seem to exist.

I am excited to see what waits under the next stone, perhaps a new wonderful treasure or nothing at all. Either way i will keep turning over stones.